Schools

Grapplers of the North Coast Section met for the first time earlier this month in the remodeled former Frost Gym, soon to be officially christened Drew Esquivel Hall. This year’s wrestlers are for the most part, if not entirely, first- and second-year wrestlers, and coach Scott Weidemier is careful to give them the kind of exposure that will grow their skills and enthusiasm for the sport instead of frustrate them...

Local soccer fans have been thrilled to witness a series of strong games from the girls team at the tail end of 2024. From the opening game against St. Helena on Nov. 14 through last Friday’s match against Gateway in San Francisco, the Greyhounds have run up an impressive nine wins in a row without a defeat...

The 75th annual REIBT tournament concluded with a second-place finish for the hosting Hounds girls, and a third-place finish for the boys, behind girls champion Justin-Siena and boys winner San Rafael.

“I believe we were able to bring life back to the program and to the community,” first-year football coach Criss Rosales said. “Regardless of what the record says on paper, we were a very good football team this year and other coaches agree. We are a hungry team with a lot to prove.”

The 75th annual Redwood Empire Invitational Basketball Tournament, familiarly known as REIBT, is an action-packed four days of basketball currently underway on host Healdsburg High School’s campus.

The Healdsburg boys soccer team, with their 3-2 record so far this year, has found much of their success in games at home—including an 8-0 trouncing of St. Helena last Friday night. The girls, meanwhile, are undefeated at 7-0.

In the recent Maria Carrillo game, With Healdsburg’s tallest player, 6-foot-4-inch Ethan Overdorf, unavailable for the game, the Greyhounds found themselves looking up at Maria Carrillo’s bigger and bulked-up athletes...

The girls soccer squad has started off undefeated in their first four matches, winning three more times following their 3-0 season-opening shutout against St. Helena on Nov. 14. Meanwhile the boys are fielding another strong team this year. They, too, started their season on Nov. 20 with a win against Cloverdale, a one-sided 6-0 victory....

While at the end of the Nov. 16 game the Hounds won handily, it was by no means a cakewalk. Petaluma’s Trojans did a good job of wrapping up the Greyhounds, stealing the ball and stymying Greyhound points—and sometimes scoring for the Trojans. The game got close a couple times, but in the end Healdsburg came out on top, 46-36.

Jake McWilliams’s dream came true as he qualified for the State Championship next Saturday in Fresno.  Lucas Welty, a freshman, was only two places away from also making it. The boys finished seventh overall in the North Coast Division 5, the top public school in the rankings.